VIDEO: “My mother sold akara” - Tinubu’s aide defends First Lady over akara business comments

• Sunday Dare defended First Lady Oluremi Tinubu after her comments encouraging Nigerians to start small businesses like selling akara and roasted corn sparked criticism online.

• The presidential aide shared his personal story, revealing that his mother sold akara, bananas and oranges, while he also hawked bananas as a child, helping to fund his education.

• Dare insisted the First Lady's message was about entrepreneurship and self-reliance, arguing that Nigerians should not look down on micro-businesses or miss the broader point she was making.

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, has defended First Lady Oluremi Tinubu following the criticism that greeted her recent comments encouraging Nigerians to consider small businesses such as selling akara, roasted corn and kuli-kuli.

Dare spoke during an appearance on the Mic On Podcast on Saturday, where he insisted that many Nigerians misunderstood the First Lady's message, saying she was encouraging entrepreneurship and self-reliance rather than suggesting petty trading as the ultimate solution to the country's economic challenges.

The controversy began after Senator Oluremi Tinubu addressed beneficiaries of the Renewed Hope Initiative in Abuja on Wednesday. During the event, she said businesses like selling akara or roasted corn require relatively little capital and noted that the initiative provides grants, not loans, to help beneficiaries start small enterprises.

Her remarks quickly sparked reactions across social media, with many Nigerians arguing that the cost of food items, cooking oil, fuel and other essential inputs has risen sharply, making even small-scale businesses expensive to start and sustain.

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Responding to the backlash, Dare said Nigeria's informal sector remains one of the biggest drivers of the economy and has continued to provide livelihoods for millions of people despite difficult economic conditions.

"When you look at the informal sector of our country, its resilience continues to lift this economy… You find it predominantly everywhere, and also in the north, they’re also significant," he said.

He also used his personal experience to explain why he believes there is dignity in small businesses.

"Look at me. Wherever I am today, my mother sold akara," Dare revealed. "Wherever I am today, my mother sold bananas. I carried bananas in a tray on my head to markets in Jos, Plateau State. My mother sold oranges, and through that, they were able to train me."

According to him, many successful Nigerians have humble beginnings rooted in informal trading, and there should be no shame in starting small.

"What is wrong with that? If that was right 60 years ago, what is wrong with that now? Because it’s about what capital you have. When you grow these small businesses, you start small," he stated.

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Dare further argued that the First Lady was not asking young Nigerians to remain petty traders forever but was encouraging them to develop entrepreneurial skills while creating legitimate sources of income.

"You must not miss her point, her point is that whatever it is, try and do something, have some level of entrepreneurial skill… The point she is making is, whatever it is, be engaged in some kind of enterprise."

The debate has continued online, with supporters saying the First Lady was highlighting the importance of entrepreneurship, while critics argue that Nigeria's current economic realities, including high inflation and rising operating costs, make it much harder to build even small businesses than it was decades ago.